Larry Marion

The tide has turned. After several years of excessive attention due to unfulfilled promises and the subsequent backlash, enterprise applications integration (EAI) tools are entering a new phase. Even the skeptics are starting to say these tools provide significant benefit. Are they as good as their vendors claim? Of course not. Are they as bad […]

In this article: Bribery, extortion, or reward: the reference account game Your friendly neighborhood enterprise resource planning vendor is going to be desperate in 1999. Many of your colleagues aren’t going to buy ERP systems this year. Their organizations need the functionality, but the CIO and the CFO realize they have a better chance of […]

In this article: Under a microscope For more information Enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors and customers are creating a huge credibility gap that may swallow IT managers and other senior executives. Vendors promise that a new system will reduce inventory costs, improve productivity, and otherwise increase the efficiency of operations are about to be severely […]

We feel your pain, and your pleasure Is there a problem at Hewlett-Packard? Sun Microsystems forges ahead in the customer satisfaction race. By Larry Marion December 1998 In the 24 years I’ve been writing about technology companies, there have always been a few sacrosanct principles to guide me. In the 1970s, the business was dominated […]

The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air was a classic, especially the two-door coupe. Tail fins, two-toned paint job, and dual exhausts if you bought the big V-8 engine with the four-barrel carburetor. No seat belts to protect you if a drag race went awry, though. Furthermore, the AM radio wasn’t much to listen to, and the […]

In this article: Footnotes The major vendors of enterprise resource planning suites have been busy building, buying, or bundling new functionality so that their packages go beyond the traditional realms of finance, materials planning, and human resources. While the appeal of end-to-end solutions is strong, the short-term weaknesses are not to be dismissed lightly. Financial […]

The general manager was not amused. We were at a banquet held by his CEO to reacquaint analysts with the major data communications equipment maker after a series of acquisitions had swelled the product list beyond recognition. The GM, though, was lamenting the ongoing enterprise resource planing (ERP) implementation of the booming company. Was Jerry […]